January 2014 Fares increases.

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

It's interesting to note that the rail industry is advising staff that there may be a delay to the uploading of new fares to industry systems ready for the (usual) annual price rises.

Seen on RailUK Forums is an extract from 'The Manual':

Next site refresh: Thursday 5 December 2013*

* This is a special update to align exactly with the 28 days in advance 'Period of Operation Rule' of the 'effective from' date of NFM^▸ (National Fares Manual) 17 and to coincide with TIS^‡(resolve) downloads of new fares and the national press announcement of the Fares Change Date.

Please note that this will mean that there will not be an update on Monday 2 December as originally planned.

Update: this date might be pushed back even further to Tuesday 10 December due to a request by the government to the rail industry.

(NFM = National Fares Manual. #17 is the next edition, due for publication today for fares that go live on 2nd January 2014.)

I suspect we may well be hearing something from George Osbore in his Autumn Statement this Wednesday.

Those that attended the WWRUG^» (West Wiltshire Rail Users Group - about) meeting a couple of weeks ago also got a heads up that FGW^▸ (First Great Western) may be freezing fares, or setting the rises at much below RPI^▸ (Revenue Protection Inspector (or Retail Price Index, depending on the context))+1%.

[devon_metro]

Now Tuesday 10th...

Edit: Just seen the bottom line of your post - doh!

Edit 2: Officially confirmed at Tuesday 10th on The Manual

[ChrisB]

You can buy seasons on the Chiltern website currently starting on January 2 at 2013 prices.....

[CLPGMS]

The Chancellor announced that rail fares will rise just by the rate of inflation - not inflation +1% - in January.

[ChrisB]

with or without flex?

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Autumn Statement: Rail ticket price rises in England curbed

Commuters across England will have a little respite from the planned rise in regulated train tickets, including season tickets, that is due next month.

They were due to pay an average of 4.1% more. That has now been cut to 3.1%. But train firms will keep the option to increase some tickets by as much as 5.1%, as long as they cut similar fares elsewhere, in a system known as "flex".

Some commuters might now pay ^40-^50 less than expected on season tickets, but will still pay more overall.

In Wales, the average rise remains at inflation plus 1% for now, although season tickets will go up by less than inflation.

The Scottish government says increases in regulated peak fares will be capped at RPI^▸ (Revenue Protection Inspector (or Retail Price Index, depending on the context)) in January 2014 and January 2015. And regulated off-peak fares are frozen after 2013, provided that RPI remains below 3.5% per annum.

There are no planned rises in Northern Ireland.

[ChrisB]

That is wrong. The flex was cut to 2% earlier this year

[JayMac]

The difference between 3.1% and 5.1% is err... 2%.

Headline figure for the January 2014 regulated rail fares rises is now 3.1%. The flex allows increases within the range of 1.1% to 5.1%.

[ChrisB]

Indeed, just a 1% cut.

[SDS]

Friday 6 December 2013
Dear colleagues,
You may be aware that yesterday the Government announced it is changing the way it asks us to price regulated fares for January 2014. This means that from 2 January 2014, regulated fares will now need to rise by an average of 3.1% instead of the previously planned 4.1%.

Fares were due to go live into the industry's sales systems next week, but they will  now be delayed until later this month to allow our fares team to make the required changes.

In the meantime, customers can continue to buy tickets at current prices for travel beyond 2 January. We are still looking at the detail of the changes and what it means for customers.

We will be issuing a Retail Brief in the coming days once these details have been finalised.

Please feel free to use this information to answer any questions from customers.

First Great Western Managing Director Mark Hopwood said: "Anything that reduces the cost of rail travel is good news for customers and the industry as a whole.

"All our fares for travel after 2 January 2014 now have to be recalculated, checked and input into the industry fares systems in a third of the time it would normally take. Our fares team will be working around the clock to make that happen.^

[devon_metro]

First Great Western Managing Director Mark Hopwood said: "Anything that reduces the cost of rail travel is good news for customers and the industry as a whole.

What, by increasing them... 

[JayMac]

The latest information given to retail staff is as follows (from a post on RailUK Forums):

Fares to be charged when issuing tickets in advance of the 2 January 2014 Fares Change Date (NFM17)

As a result of the late changes to fares regulation, the normal rules about which prices to be charged in advance of a fare change have been amended as follows:

• Fares sold before 23 December 2013 - outward travel date before 02 January 2014 - current price
• Fares sold before 23 December 2013 - outward travel date on or after 02 January 2014 - current price
• Fares sold on or after 23 December 2013 - outward travel date before 02 January 2014 ^ current price
• Fares sold on or after 23 December 2013 - outward travel date on or after 02 January 2014 ^ new price

Season Tickets may be issued in advance according to the rules shown in The Manual, or in accordance to authorised local instructions where these differ.

Advance fares may continue to be sold at the price quoted for the date and time of travel at time of booking.

[ChrisB]

Season Tickets may be issued in advance according to the rules shown in The Manual

Anyone able to elucidate please as to what those are? (preferably with a quote from the manual!)

[Southern Stag]

New 7-day seasons may be issued only on the day they start, or if the start date is a Monday from 0600 on the Sunday the day before.
7-day renewals with no break of continuity may be issued from noon the day before hand, or from noon on Friday if the start date is a Sunday or Monday.
New period and annual seasons may be issued from noon the day before, or from noon on Friday if the start date is Sunday or Monday.
Period and annual season renewals with no break of continuity may be issued up to 7 days in advance.
There is also a statement that rules on renewals are generally relaxed over Christmas and New Year and that Travelcard seasons on Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services) cards may be issued up to 30 days in advance, as they do not have the same potential for misuse as a standard season.

[laird]

I think last year the relaxation allowed purchase for early January on or after the 17th December, anyone happen to know if its the same date for 1st/2nd January Annual Gold Cards this year?